


For the Love of...Money?

by MarauderNo5



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29964246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarauderNo5/pseuds/MarauderNo5
Summary: Lucas Koh hasn't ever cared about his trust fund, not really. He didn't care if his lost out on the trust fund. The family business was an entirely different story and he wasn't prepared to lose it.Could there be a solution that lets him have it all?
Relationships: Lucas Koh/Main Character (Love Island), Lucas Koh/Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	For the Love of...Money?

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the monthly prompt competition for r/LITGFanFiction on Reddit

“You okay, babes?” 

The question broke through Lucas’s daze as he stared out the window onto his parents’ estate. It was nothing but beautiful green grass all the way to the stables. Growing up here had not been all bad, he reminded himself, and it wasn’t bad to be back here now. 

He turned around to see her standing in the doorway, a perfect fit for this lifestyle of functions and charity work, a perfect fit for the Koh family. The sunlight streaming in the window caught her vibrant blue eyes, which were trained on him and looked softer than usual, at least for when they were alone. Instinctively, she reached to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, forgetting she had pulled it half up and clipped it, keeping the honey blonde strands off her face. The white halter dress perfectly complimented her sun-tanned skin and flared out at the waist, keeping it appropriate for the Koh family while also keeping her from overheating in the late July sun. Even her heels were simple, all designed to be the perfect fixture on Lucas’s arm for photographs without pulling too much focus.

By all accounts, she was beautiful, both inside and out, and it was something that Lucas never failed to notice. When he had told his family they were officially together, they had been thrilled. Finally, it seemed their only child had found someone he could be serious about. Finally the papers would stop writing about the playboy heir to the Koh business. Finally everything was falling back into the plans that the Kohs had made for their son. She was poised, had gone to the proper schools, a good conversationalist, well read, a philanthropist, connected to the right society organizations. His mother took her shopping and to luncheons with all her friends, his father pulled him aside to express his approval. 

Once they separated from the parents and all the obligations, she would turn off parent mode and she was actually one of the only people Lucas had ever been able to truly be himself around. She never judged him, never made him feel bad or guilty or anything. Somehow, he could unload things he had never said to anyone and she took it all in stride, staying by his side. On paper, she was perfect. There was only one problem.

None of it was real. From the moment it had started, the whole relationship had been fake. They weren’t in love and never had been. Lucas had needed a solution and she had been the perfect means to an end.

Lucas finally pulled his eyes back to hers again and he forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, darling.” 

She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, eyes still appraising his face. If she had one fault, it was this. There was no way he could ever hide what he was thinking from her. Nobody had ever been able to read him so well.

“We don’t have to go through with this, you know,” she said softly, watching him as the words came out.

“What other choice do I have?” His jaw clenched almost imperceptibly as he said it but he knew she would have seen. He looked away to buy himself a second.

“Go it alone?” 

It was not the first time she had made the suggestion. Usually, when anyone had said that to him, he just scoffed and dismissed it. There was just something different in the way she said it. It was as if she knew him well enough to say it from a concern for his happiness rather than anything else.

Lucas sighed and with it tried to dispel some of the weight he was feeling. “I don’t care about the trust, I never have. But the business…”

Because that was the truth. He didn’t care if he lost out on his trust fund that stated he had to be married first. That had never mattered to him. But he did care about having a chance to make a difference in the business. The two had always been separate in his mind. Why should they be tied together? That was when his father had told him that Lucas could not take over the business while unmarried, the investors and the board were all against it. According to them, it was at direct odds with everything the business stood for. That made Lucas pause. Losing out on his trust was one thing, there were other ways to make money. Lucas was not prepared to give up on the business without the fight of his life.

“I know.” Her voice was gentle, soothing, understanding.

“I can’t give it up when there’s still something I can do about it. I deserve the chance to leave my mark on it.”

“You also deserve the chance to fall in love, Lucas.” 

Again, there was nothing condescending or judgmental about the statement. There was only concern. Even though their entire romantic relationship had been a sham, there was a level of care between them that neither had been expecting. 

“I know,” he conceded.

Lucas turned back toward the window and lost himself yet again. He let his mind drift back to when this had all started. Had anyone told him this is where he would be less than a year later, he would have asked if they were out of their minds. 

*************************************

It was another weekend of doing the exact same thing as he and his friends did any time there was something to celebrate, bar hopping around London until they were so pissed that they barely knew their own names. And nobody could come up with excuses to celebrate like the group of them, who had been friends since their boarding school days. Lucas would also argue that nobody quite knew how to party like them and few people could keep up. 

Although the night started like any other, she was different. Lucas rarely worried about finding women on his night’s out like this, partly because he did not want to generate another tabloid photograph for his parents to chastise him over that called him London’s most eligible bachelor, and partly because none of the women were ever enough to hold his interest. 

That night was different, though.  _ She _ was different. When he had noticed her on the other side of the bar, he had immediately called a friend’s attention to her, not even noticing that she was also with a group of friends. But, she had noticed them, the second they had walked in, she later told Lucas. It had been impossible to  _ not _ notice them, what with all the commotion they had caused. Despite herself, she later admitted that she had been amused by the sight of them. 

As the night progressed, Lucas had been compelled to try and speak to her, to use one of his fail safe lines as he was quite drunk already. Was it even a good line? Had he delivered it correctly? Lucas did not have those answers. What he did know was that nothing seemed to be working on this mystery woman. Instead, she wore an amused grin every time he approached her, which had likely been more than several times.

That was where the night went hazy. It was at that point that his mind had gone into protective mode to save him from remembering anything else that he had said or done. What his mind had not counted on, though, was that the mystery woman would remind him the next morning. 

Lucas awoke to the unfamiliar smell of delicious food wafting into his bedroom from somewhere else in the flat.  _ Odd _ , he thought, as he lived alone and did not have any memory of bringing someone home the night before. As he shifted to go investigate the source of the smell, he noticed a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water on the bedside table. He reached for the bottle and caught sight of a note written in very elegant curling lettering. 

_ Don’t take any more of these until 1pm. _

He frowned. It had crossed his mind that maybe some of his friends had crashed at his last night since it had the extra space, was the nicest of any of their places, and Lucas was  _ pretty sure _ it was the closest to the last bar they had been at. But none of his friends had handwriting like that. So, the mystery continued.

Consulting the clock and finding that it was not actually after 1pm yet, Lucas stood up from the bed, waiting for the hangover to hit, and surprised himself that it did not seem that bad. Somehow he had managed to get into a pair of his pajama bottoms too, so maybe he had not been as drunk as he assumed. It was time to find out who the mysterious, cooking intruder was, and he braved the walk to the kitchen. 

There were no words when he rounded the corner and saw a woman with her back to him, whisking eggs in a bowl, skillet on the stovetop beside her. Her honey blonde hair was in a messy knot on top of her head and she wore a baggy t-shirt with a pair of what looked like his joggers that must have been rolled over several times to fit her. The whole scene already made zero sense to him when she turned around. That was when his stomach had really, truely, dropped.  _ The girl from the bar.  _ Parts of the night came flooding back. 

“Morning sleepyhead,” she said cheerily.

Just as he was about to say something in response, the doorknob of the door to the flat turned and caused Lucas to turn towards it with a sharp panic. Only one other person had a key to his flat and would do something like this, dropping by unannounced and incidentally, it was the last person that he would have wanted to walk in at that moment. There was no time to say anything to the mystery woman, to tell her to hide, or explain why she ought not to be there. No, this was happening and he was in for it.

A well-to-do older woman with fair skin and her dark, almost black, hair pulled into a tight bun atop her head stepped cheerily over the doorstep. As always, she was immaculately dressed with shoes and a handbag color matched to her outfit. Her eyes went to Lucas first, a frown replacing the previous smile at his appearance. However, he was saved from the tut forming on her lips as she seemed to realize someone else was in the flat.

“Oh! Lucas, dear, I didn’t realize you would have company,” she said, throwing her son a glare as she looked to the woman in the kitchen.

Not missing a beat, the beautiful mystery woman from the night before smiled brightly and wiped her hands off, stepping forward.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Koh, I’m Whitley Pemberton,” she said.

Lucas was struck with several thoughts all at once. How did she know his surname? How had he not remembered such a pretty name as Whitley? And most importantly, how was her voice so chipper and pleasant after a night out. 

“You as well,” Mrs. Koh said, not bothering to offer her first name to Whitley. “I hadn’t meant to intrude…”

“Oh, you’re really not. Several of us went out last night and Lucas was kind enough to offer some of us to stay here to not have to head such a long way home. You’ve only barely missed Christoher and Asher,” Whitley said quickly but without a hint of untruth behind the words. “I couldn’t help myself, though. I wanted to make sure to leave some breakfast as a thanks before heading out myself.”

“Christopher and Asher were here as well? Such lovely young men,” Mrs. Koh said, softening a bit. “Did you have fun?” 

“We did, and we were very careful to avoid anything that...well, you know,” Whitley said, almost conspiratorially to the older woman.

What was happening? Who was this mystery of a woman that was completely charming his mother with no notice? 

“You should let this one come out with you more, Lucas. She’s got a good head on her shoulders,” Mrs. Koh said to her son with a touch of affection and a larger hint of affection toward the stranger. 

“Have you eaten? I haven’t put the eggs on yet, I can easily add more,” Whitley said.

“Oh, I’m fine, but you’re very kind,” Mrs. Koh said. “No, I was just in the area and was going to twist his arm here to come to lunch with me, but I’ll take a raincheck. Maybe if I play my cards right, he’ll bring you along as well.”

“Mother,” Lucas said, speaking up.

“Oh, he does speak,” Mrs. Koh tutted. 

“You’ve not given me much chance,” Lucas said and Mrs. Koh waved a hand dismissively. 

“Don’t forget the function tomorrow night and don’t you  _ dare _ bring that Blake or whatever her name was, she was awful,” Mrs. Koh said and went to kiss her son’s cheek.

“That’s tomorrow?” Lucas asked, clearly having forgotten. 

“Yes, and you had better be on time with an appropriate date or so help me,” Mrs. Koh said before turning to Whitley. “Say, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Mother,” Lucas said again, warningly.

“What?” Mrs. Koh asked, feigning innocence. 

“You can’t just invite someone to a function at the last minute and put her on the spot,” Lucas said.

“Why not?” Mrs. Koh asked. There was no hint of embarrassment behind her words.

“For one it’s a Saturday night and she may have other plans, for a second thing, it’s incredibly short notice, and for a third, she may not have an evening gown just ready to go,” Lucas said, cheeks going red at having to have this conversation in front of Whitley.

“As it happens, I’m not busy tomorrow night and I do have several dresses in my closet that work for a function,” Whitley said and Lucas snapped his head to hers in complete shock.

“Lovely, I’ll see you both tomorrow then,” Mrs. Koh and headed out the door. 

********************************************************

During his reflection on that first meeting, she had moved to stand beside him, not interrupting the silence that washed over the two of them. That was something he had appreciated from the beginning. While she was incredibly interesting to listen to and capable of holding conversation on such a wide variety of topics, she was also just as happy to let a silence settle between them. She was not like the other vapid society girls, unable to understand when their very existence was annoying. Then again, Whitley’s existence was never annoying. 

Glancing over at her, he found that she was also gazing out the window. As if feeling his gaze on her, she turned her face slightly to meet his, her eyes again hinting at depths most did not get to see with the public face she wore. They were somewhat the same in that regard, both used to putting on a show when they were around groups of people.

“I was just thinking about the first time we met,” he confessed and saw the corners of her lips twitch up into a smirk.

“What you remember of it,” she responded, not missing a beat.

“I suppose I should be glad I don’t remember more,” he admitted and she laughed, a melodic sound that routinely brought smiles to those around her.

“I wish I’d recorded you,” she said and he chuckled at the thought.

“You should’ve done, it would be worth quite a lot now to the right buyer,” he responded and she turned to face him fully, eyes alight with mischief and joy.

“Maybe I’m just pretending I haven’t recorded you and I’m saving it for the right moment,” she mused and he rolled his eyes.

“You’re exhausting,” Lucas responded and she smiled wide.

“Which is exactly why this works, because I challenge you,” Whitley shot back and he sighed. She was right, again. Not that he liked to admit how often she was right. And not that she needed him to.

“I suppose we’d better go join the party,” Lucas said and adjusted his suit jacket nervously before fumbling with the buttons on the jacket. 

Whitley’s hands carefully brushed his out of the way and deftly fastened the jacket where he had been struggling. When she finished, she looked up into his eyes, studying him. “I mean what I said, you know.”

“About what?” Lucas thought he knew, but he needed her to say it one more time.

“About forgetting this whole thing, calling the whole thing off.” 

Lucas studied her for a moment, trying to find a trace of annoyance or insincerity, but there was nothing there apart from the same care she had shown from nearly the beginning. He took a deep steadying breath and fixed a smile to his face. 

“I’m still in if you are,” he said and turned to extend his arm.

“Course I am,” she agreed breezily and took his arm. 

“Then let’s go.”

The pair of them left the room and descended downstairs to the party, eyes on them from the moment that they appeared at the top of the stairs. It was a party to celebrate another year of Lucas, after all. Almost immediately, he found his mother’s eyes and she smiled warmly at him. There was a small part of him that felt guilty about it all, worried that she would find out the whole relationship had been a lie from the moment she met Whitley. His mother had grown fond of Whitley almost immediately, as had every other person who met the stunning woman. 

His mother immediately came up and whisked Whitley off to talk to another friend of hers about some function or other. Lucas was honestly not listening, but his eyes followed her as she walked off anyway, catching the wink she threw back at him when she caught him watching her. All he could think about was being nervous about what he was about to do. He had put the nerves down to not wanting anyone to realize that it was all fake and not considered any other possibility.

Before he knew it, and certainly before he was ready, Lucas met Whitley’s eyes across the room and saw her nod nearly imperceptibly. It was crazy to be nervous. The two of them had planned the whole thing out and he had practiced what he was going to say. Practiced until Lucas was completely sure and comfortable with how it was going to go. This was supposed to be the easy part. The hard part should have been convincing everyone that they were in love, which had turned out to be surprisingly easy. Everywhere they went, they heard what a stunning couple they were, how lucky they were to have found each other, how wonderful they were to have around.

He stepped up to where the band had been playing but was now taking a break, grabbing hold of the microphone. It was traditional that he gave a speech to thank everyone for coming to celebrate his birthday. Nothing odd about this. He tapped the microphone and noticed how quickly the silence fell.

“Thank you all for coming to celebrate my birthday, it means a lot to see so many faces here tonight. Of course, the real thank you goes to my mother, who tirelessly planned such a wonderful event,” he said and paused to raise his glass to his mother. “I have to admit, I was not really looking forward to turning 29, I was kind of dreading it, actually. But then something happened that I never imagined would have.”

Exactly as they had planned, Lucas found Whitley in the crowd of people, standing right next to his mother, as they had agreed she should be. Whitley gave him a dazzling smile and he felt immediately at ease again. It was just like she had told him.  _ Focus on me,  _ she had said,  _ and pretend I’m the only one in the room. _

“Then, I met one of the most beautiful, kind, intelligent women in the world. Her smile lights up every room she’s in and you can’t help but be happy in her presence. But, most importantly, as my mother will tell anyone that asks, she has no problem putting me in my place.”

There was laughter at this, just as Whitley had assured him there would be. His mother was nodding along and gave Whitley a smile. Lucas made it seem as if he were taking a thoughtful pause.

“So, although we’re here celebrating my birthday, I hope you’ll indulge me in this,” Lucas continued. “She’s been the most wonderful person to have by my side for the past nine months and I know it might seem like I’m moving fast, but someone once told me that when you know, you know.”

Here, Lucas paused again to look to his father. It came directly from a conversation the two men had before Lucas had even met Whitley. Using it here was showing that Lucas had learned from his father.

“I’ve realized that I don’t actually know nearly as much as I thought I did, but what I do know is that I don’t want to learn with anyone else by my side. I don’t want to share adventures with anyone else. I don’t want to go through life without her for a single day,” Lucas said as he stepped off the stage and moved through the parting crowd towards Whitley and his parents. When he reached Whitley, he withdrew a box. “Whitley, will you marry me?”

Whitley had a hand over her mouth, as if she were in shock and Lucas gazed at her, showing nothing but the care he genuinely felt. This beautiful, kind, captivating woman had been the most supportive friend he had ever had and he had not even known her for a year.

Everything that he said in the speech was true. Whitley was as beautiful as she was kind, as intelligent as she was charming, and she challenged him in a way nobody had ever been able to challenge him before. This was the first time he could remember not getting bored of someone in a long time, possibly ever. When anyone else stood up to him, he would write them off. When Whitley did it, however, he stopped and listened. There was value in what she said and she had a way of getting through to him even in his foulest of moods.

Lucas watched as Whitley brushed tears out of her eyes and was in awe of her yet again. How was she able to cry on command on top of everything else that she could do? Honestly, there seemed to be nothing that she was incapable of. It should have annoyed him and yet, there was no way to be annoyed with her.

“Yes,” Whitley said, having pretended to compose herself enough to answer. “Yes, Lucas, of course I’ll marry you.”

Her always dazzling smile had gotten somehow brighter as she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. He realized that they had not talked about what was going to happen once she said yes and there was a moment of panic. Of course Whitley had it covered though. She pulled away from him and placed her hands on either side of his face as she pressed her lips firmly against his. Instinct took over and he wound his arms around her waist more tightly, the box still in one hand, pressing her tightly against him. It was like he was on autopilot as he deepened the kiss. Whitley, never missing a beat, matched him. Time stood still and Lucas forgot that there were people all around until Whitley gently placed her hands on his chest and pushed them gently apart. The same moment, Lucas snapped back to reality and heard the applause all around them.

In front of him, Whitley smiled at him, eyes full of affection, as she held her hand out to him. Remembering that he had the box in his hand still, he slid the ring onto her outstretched finger. It fit perfectly, as he knew it would because she had already tried it on. He had wanted her to come with him to pick it out, but she reminded him that someone could see them and it would spoil the plan. So he had taken a friend of his instead and picked out the most stunning ring he could imagine, knowing his mother’s approval was just as important.

The rest of the party seemed to fly by in a whirl of people congratulating him and wanting to see her ring. Whitley, ever the perfect companion, showed off the ring and gushed along with whatever anyone was saying. If you didn’t know her, you would have thought that she was just as vapid as the rest of those women, only caring about superficial things. But, Lucas did know her and he knew that she was just going along with the plan they made. That was what made her an infinitely better person than he was. It only served to reaffirm what he had said after the function his mother had roped Whitley into: she was too good for him. 

While part of Lucas was present in accepting the congratulations, another part of him was somewhere else entirely. The kiss consumed his thoughts. They had never kissed, not like that at least. Any kisses had been quick pecks, usually on the cheek as was the custom in the social circles. They had been very careful with the lines and careful to not cross them. Both of them had agreed on that. This worked because things were not messy and they had not gotten drunk and slept together, though Lucas had considered it a time or two.

_ She kissed you back _ , said a small voice in the back of his head. It was true. He knew that he had been the one to deepen the kiss. Whitley had gone along with it too. What Lucas did not know, though, was if she was still playing the game or not. And more importantly, he did not know why it mattered so much to him if she was. This was all just a fake relationship, right?

**Author's Note:**

> There's a *chance* I may continue this to a (short) chaptered fic to let you know the background on how we got here and where Lucas goes from here. But, that wouldn't be until April at the earliest.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! ❤️


End file.
